We are one blink of an eye away from being fully awake

Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.

Be kinder to yourself. And then let your kindness flood the world.

Being satisfied with what we already have is a magical golden key to being alive in a full, unrestricted, and inspired way.

So war and peace start in the human heart. Whether that heart is open or whether that heart closes has global implications.

It isn't what happens to us that causes us to suffer; it's what we say to ourselves about what happens.

All you need to know is that the future is wide open and you are about to create it by what you do.

To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.

Feel the feelings and drop the story.

The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.

All situations teach you, and often it's the tough ones that teach you best.

Bargain: something you can't use at a price you can't resist.

I still watch 'Idol, ' and it's still the No. 1 show, so obviously I'm not the only one who loves to sit at home and be entertained.

Understanding, as we understand it, is misunderstanding.

There are so many things to be considered in making music. The whole question of life itself... I know that I want to produce beautiful music, music that does things to people that they need.

Christian life consists of faith and charity

Hard work will get you a professorship or a BMW. You need both work and luck for a Booker, a Nobel or a private jet.

But I know the difference. Everyone else is a ghost. I exist here alone, stranded by choice. Deserted.

Don't compare yourself to anyone. Be happy to be the wonder unique, very special person that you are.

I don't want to leave this mess around my children to clean up. I want to swing absolutely as hard as I can to straighten things out before they get to the age where it starts hurting them.

Beethoven and Beatles, Mozart and Michael Jackson, Paganini and Prince - I like them all.